Field Gulls
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, Seattle Seahawks fans: The Green Bay Packers had a double digit lead on the road and only a couple of minutes remaining in the game. A score by the opponent made it a one possession game, but an onside kick was required to have a shot to win. Green Bay dropped the onside kick, gave up a late score and then lost on a dime of a pass by an exciting young quarterback in overtime.
That happened in the 2014 NFC Championship Game when the Packers lost to the Seahawks, and it happened again versus the 11-4 Chicago Bears on a windy Saturday night in, uh, you know what city it is.
Down 16-6 with over two minutes to go, the Bears took way too long to kick a field goal and cost themselves a potentially valuable clock stoppage by losing the two-minute warning. Romeo Doubs played the role of Brandon Bostick and could not recover this onside kick.
Caleb Williams threw this 4th down touchdown against an all-out blitz to the little known, undrafted rookie receiver Jahdae Walker for the tying score.
Malik Willis, who played valiantly after Jordan Love left the game in the second quarter due to a concussion, was unable to handle a 4th and 1 snap in Chicago territory on Green Bay’s only overtime possession.
Bears ball, Bears game. Caleb Williams to D.J. Moore for the game, set, and match. The biggest regular season win the Bears have had in a long time.
Chicago’s 22-16 overtime win puts the Bears on the cusp of winning the NFC North for the first time since 2018, and now the Packers have to worry about making the playoffs, let alone staying alive in the division race.
We mentioned in the discussion post that a Packers win was preferable to create a path for the Seahawks to get the No. 1 seed before Week 17, but it’s otherwise not a result that has any deeper meaning for Seattle for the time being. Here are the latest standings:
Seattle can get the No. 1 seed by simply winning their final two games. Despite Chicago’s win, there’s still another way to have the dream scenario of not letting the division (and the top seed) come down to the final Sunday of the regular season.
